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Luxuriously smooth queso made with real cheese. Even better than you’d find in a Mexican restaurant!
We have mastered the much-loved Tex-Mex cheese dip! This rich and velvety queso dip recipe will be your new go-to for social gatherings. Packed with onion, garlic, jalapeños, tomatoes, cilantro and spices, you’ll taste all of the flavours of traditional Mexican cuisine with every bite. Move over Velveeta! There’s nothing like a good queso dip made with real cheese – deliciosa!
QUESO
Ahhhh queso. A world famous cheese dip that everyone loves! We make our queso even more spectacular using a special ingredient to maintain the dip’s velvety smooth consistency. Some cheese dips start off great, but as they begin to cool down, they can become grainy and clumpy.
To combat this, we use a secret weapon: evaporated milk! It’s made an appearance in many of our recipes, including our super popular creamy hot chocolate and reader favourite Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup. It’s my solution to achieving a perfect creamy consistency, without the gluggy, floury after-taste you get from other thickening agents.
HOW TO MAKE QUESO
SUPER simple to make and quick to throw together in a skillet or the pot you’re planning to serve it in, as pictured above. Just let cool slightly before serving.
Start with your flavour base:
Sauté green onions: white parts only for a deeper flavour, reserving the green parts of the onion to stir through right at the end. One bunch of green onions is the perfect amount, then add fresh garlic.
Add tomatoes: use finely diced Roma, cherry or grape tomatoes for a sweeter flavour. Make sure you throw in those tomato juices as well!
Spices: We use fire roasted green chilies to achieve that smoky flavour, but you can use pickled jalapeños or fresh chiles. The choice is yours! Ground cumin, onion powder and cayenne pepper add to the flavour profile but can be substituted for whatever you have on hand, or omitted completely.
Make your dip as mild or as spicy as you like by adding more cayenne, or throw in some red chili powder or hot sauce. That’s the beauty of our queso dip, it’s extremely adaptable!
HOW TO CREATE SILKY, SMOOTH QUESO SAUCE
A combination of cornstarch and evaporated milk creates that silky, smooth sauce. Let them simmer together and thicken slightly before adding your cheese.
Tip: taste test dip with the chips you plan to serve them with, so as not to over-salt! Adjust seasonings if needed.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH QUESO DIP
The obvious pairing has to be Fried Tortilla Chips! But this queso is so versatile you could pair it with almost anything. Try dipping our Oven Fried Beer Battered Shrimp or Chicken Tenders in your queso. Or throw over some Crispy Garlic Baked Potato Wedges for loaded fries.
You’ll love them more than store bought chips!
MORE DIP RECIPES
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Guacamole
Spinach Artichoke Dip with Bacon
Easy Satay Dipping Sauce
Avocado Hummus
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Queso (Mexican Cheese Dip)
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound cheddar cheese 225 g fresh, shredded, smoked, sharp or American cheddar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3/4 cup green onions finely chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 3.5 oz diced tomatoes Roma, grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper add more to taste if desired
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch cornflour
- 13 ounces evaporated milk full fat
- 4 oz fire roasted green chiles or jalapeños
- 1/4 cup cilantro fresh, finely chopped
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium-sized pot over medium-heat. Sauté the green onions (white parts only) for 4 minutes, until soft. Then add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes in with juices with the chiles, cumin, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Cook while stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes until soft and fragrant.
- Mix cornstarch into the pot, then pour in the evaporated milk, stirring well to combine.
- Bring to a boil, then add the cheese, mixing well. Cook, while stirring, until cheese just melts through the milk and transforms into a smooth sauce. Take off heat immediately.
- Stir in cilantro, green onions (reserved green parts) and season with salt to taste if needed. Mix well.Serve warm.Tip: Queso thickens when cooled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was FANTASTIC! My husband likes to make “fries supreme” a la Taco Bell and usually uses Tostitos Queso which is not very good and highly processed. I made a batch of this to use instead and we both LOVE it. So fresh and flavourful.
This was probably the best Queso I have ever tried. It was a little bit thicker than I expected but it was probably because of something I did.
This recipe is so delicious! I will definitely make it again and again. I had to use 2% milk because go had used my last can of evaporated milk on another recipe and the regular milk worked just fine. Thank you for posting this recipe for us to share.
BEST EVER. My son & I made this tonight and both of us agree-we haven’t had better in a restaurant. Thank you!
I just got done making this for my friend’s birthday party tomorrow. WOW!!!! This is super duper tasty! I followed the recipe exactly as written. Even doubled it. So creamy and flavorful. It has the perfect amount of heat and spice. Thanks for a fabulous, well written recipe. I will never go back to the not-cheese recipe!
Delicious! Love this recipe. Flawless, easy to execute. I wish I could pin this to my Tried it Loved it Pinterest Board, but I can’t see any options here to. That is okay I know where to find you. I guess it will have to be my little secret. Thank you for a delicious recipe. I actually used this for a shredded chicken nacho meal. Yum!
I love all your recipes. You always help me earn a consistent 9+ stars from the husband every time! I’m prepping for a SuperBowl party, and I was thinking of sautéing the onions & garlic, and then crock-potting the rest. Will this work or just kill the consistency? Appreciate you!
This was good…but, had to adjust the chilis/jalapenos. We all have our threshold of spice. I roast my own and I’m assuming, maybe I’m incorrect, that this is a canned item on this recipe?
Super yummy!I Used 1 10oz can of Rotel Hot fire roasted tomatoes enstead of 2 seperate cans of chiles and tomatoes. Also 13oz was an odd amount of milk, evaporated milk comes in 12oz can, and I only used one. Also I added a tsp of cayenne , I lik it hot:) Very tasty! Will be making again!! Ty!!:)
love this recipe! do you know if this can be frozen? My husband is a huge fan, this works perfect with tacos, his favorite meal.